Won't Settle For Less
by Lady-Blayze
Summary: Xion is stunned after a break up and runs out during the night. She bumps into a guy who at first she is hesitant to speak to but as they chat more she warms up to him. She gets his number, and is not sure if she should call him. But the next day at school she finds out one of her friends has strong feelings for her. Now she is torn between how her emotions lie for both boys.
1. Chapter 1: The Night It All Began

Chapter 1: The night it all began

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**Hey it's my first time publishing here please be kind. I have taken great pride into this so far but I will most likely be rewriting it a lot. So I never shipped anyone with Xion for a while and then suddenly BAM idea. So anyways R&R and thank you for giving this a shot I appreciate it. Enjoy and I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters (sadly) **

**Probably really OOC I'm so sorry D:**

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"Oh come on Xion relax!" Axel yelled after her with Roxas following closely behind him.

Xion turned and glared at the spiky red haired boy "Relax? Are you kidding me?!" She stomped up to him and looked up at his emerald eyes. "Roxas breaks up with me because he's with someone else, a guy!" She growled slightly, "my boyfriend was gay, how the hell do you think I feel? And it was you! You guys were using me to cover this so people wouldn't know. What kind of best friends are you?" Roxas looked away, the obvious guilt in his eyes made Xion feel bad but she was too angry to let it stop her now.

"I think it was all your idea too, you sly jerk! Always creeping around, blackmailing people to do things for you." Xion jabbed her index finger into Axel's chest accusingly, "Is this really what you think of me? Just some puppet you can use in your favor? " Xion immediately stopped after saying that. She turned her face away.

Axel grabbed her by her shoulders and she looked back up at him. His usually calm green eyes had a burning anger in them. "You are not a puppet, you are a teenage girl. Don't you dare say I don't care about you, I care about you, no we both care about you more than anything."

Xion turned to Roxas who had his head down. She felt her heart ache seeing him in such a state. Peeling Axel's fingers off her, she walked over to her now ex-boyfriend and wrapped her arms around him.

"We are ...still best friends, even if we need some time away from each other...I'm so sorry" She whispered so only the blond would hear. She could feel his head gesture a subtle nod and she released him.

"I think... You should go Xion..." She heard Roxas' voice for the first time after the whole argument.

He was telling her to leave.

Xion felt the stinging of tears beginning to form. She wasn't going to give Axel the joy of seeing her cry, she glared at him one last time and burst out the door.

"Xion!" Axel's voice called after her but she payed him no mind and started to run as fast as she could. The tears she held for so long began to stream down her face, and she couldn't make out where she was running, but didn't stop to check. She just kept going, ignoring annoyed or concerned looks as she passed by bumping into people.

Xion felt like such a child running away. But the fact that Axel lied to her, and Roxas too. She couldn't bear the thought of her best friends treating her so terribly.

Axel always protected her from people like the bully Saïx who did nothing but treat her like a puppet he always claimed her broken and useless. That's why Axel was so angry when she called herself a puppet, he hated people saying that about her. Xion took the comments Saïx said to heart. She hated everything about him but his words stabbed so deeply into her. Axel was once Saïx's best friend but he hated the way he talked about Roxas and Xion. He deserted that friendship for them.

It was dark before she knew it and soon she could hardly see. She began to panic realizing she was in an unfamiliar part of town. When she could run no longer she stopped to soothe the burning in her lungs, she leaned her arm against a building to rest. When she heard a group of men approaching she began sprinting once again.

Running from her problems was not usually something Xion would do, but yet this time, it felt as though it was all she could do. Well that was until she ran smack dab into somebody and fell on her butt.

"Hey little missy, you should be watching for obstacles as you run." A manly voice huffed at her. Xion looked up to see an outstretched hand which she eyed cautiously before hesitantly grabbing.

With a pull and a chuckle she was face to face with an attractive boy "No need to be so cautious I don't bite, " His lips that were frowning before were formed into a flirty smirk. "well unless you ask me too." He winked one of golden eyes at her.

Xion felt her face flush at the boy's comment. She was grateful it was dark enough to hide it. Brushing herself off quickly she turned to leave.  
"Aw come on, can't take a joke? Look I was taught to lend an ear to any girl I come across with tears in her eyes." The boy called after her. He gave a sympathetic smile. "I've got ears to listen."

Xion sighed thinking it over, sure she didn't know him but he didn't look much older than her, and he didn't seem too shady. Finally she shrugged her shoulders in defeat, and sat with him in the alley, retelling the hell that she had gone through that day.

"Well it's a long story, feel free to tell me to stop if you get bored."

"Hey I said I'd listen, so that is what I'll do." And so she began.

He listened intently throughout the story, adding a nod in here and there. But kept his opinions to himself till the end of Xion's story. "... So apparently they were dating the whole time and was just using me to make sure no one found out..."

"Well if you ask me, these 'friends' of yours aren't worth your time." The dark haired boy said standing up and reaching out a hand to help Xion up.

She accepted it with a smile and nodded. "Yeah I'm starting to think that too..." She chuckled lightly.

Golden spheres stared into sapphire orbs for what seemed to be an eternity, making Xion nervous. She was still not too sure about this guy, after all anyone can be friendly at first.

"I can tell you don't trust me, can't say I'm surprised. I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Vanitas." The boy said staring up to the sky. His gaze seemed so distant like he was looking at something beyond the stars, something that Xion herself couldn't see.

She fidgeted slightly unsure if she give him her name but figure why not. "I'm Xion, sorry for dumping all that on you. It's been a long day..." She frowned slightly.

"Nonsense, I was quite intrigued. Shall I buy you a drink? There's a place nearby." Vanitas had a smirk playing along his lips as his gaze turned back down to her. He was clearly curious to whether or not she actually drank.

Xion quickly shook her head "I can't, I'm only 15. Plus I've got school tomorrow..." She was trying to think of a way to end the conversation and leave. She went to check her jacket pockets only to realize she wasn't wearing it. She'd left it at Roxas's place. "Say... Would you happen to have the time?"

Vanitas nodded and pulled out his phone. "It's 12:13, you gotta date?" He put the phone back in his pocket and didn't wait for a response before patting her head. "You have school tomorrow I know. Your folks must be worried. I'll give you a ride," Vanitas saw the look on her face and chuckled "Look, I'm not interested alright? You just happened to stumble upon a kind gentleman."

Xion looked away and crossed her arms. This was getting troublesome. She could accept the offer after all she wasn't quite sure where she was, but her mind was telling her it could be dangerous. She sighed defeated, knowing it would take forever to find her way home and to get him to leave her alone.

"Sure, a ride would be nice..." With that a small grin grew on Vanitas' face.

He led her to the parking lot by the bar where she spotted their ride. A motorcycle._ Yeah that figures_ she thought to herself. Vanitas seemed like the person who'd have a motorcycle instead of a car. This felt like a bad stereotype to Xion but she just walked over to it without a word.  
When they reached the bike, Vanitas handed Xion the helmet that was rested on the seat.

She had to admit it was a nice bike but she knew nothing about them. But she looked it over anyways while attempting to put on the helmet and failing. The strap wouldn't stay in the loops or it ended up all tangled. She huffed out a frustrated sigh in resignation, drooping her head.

With that Vanitas came over and lifted her chin up so they were eye to eye and Xion felt her face flush slightly. He looped the helmet fastener so that it was tight enough and shook his head.

"It's through two back one, you've never rode a motorcycle have you?" Xion shook her head which earned her a sigh. "I need your address to take you home yknow?" She nodded in reply and told Vanitas it.

"Oh I live on 14 Destiny Lane." Xion's mind was screaming at her to decline while she still could but at the same time she knew she had to get home.  
Vanitas was up on the bike by the time she snapped out of her mental argument. "Thats quite a ways away, good thing you ran in to me huh?" He turned the key starting the ignition and looked at her cocking his eyebrow smirking. "You can hop on now, or are you just going to stand there till dawn with my helmet?"

His comment made Xion blush once again, she felt like a lost child unsure what to do, he could at least stop picking on her. She climbed up behind him and swung her leg over to the other side. She hesitated before wrapping her arms around his waist, which made him laugh at her again.

"You're afraid I get that, but try to loosen up. " He unwrapped her arms and rested them on his waist. "If I'm going fast or over bumps that's when you can use a death grip." He turned away from her and revved the engine before he sped off leaving the parking lot behind them.


	2. Chapter 2: Written Permanently In Ink

**Well I guess I'm trying to keep this weekly, so expect a chapter every saturday or sunday. **

**This chapter is boring and short. I wanted to keep this as realistic as I could so I kept the whole High School life involved and the next couple chapters will take place there. (Unless I squish chapters together...which might actually be a good idea...) Enjoy and R&R! Like the fic and want to keep reading? Then remember to follow and fav! Thanks guys have a good week!**

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts or it's character but I wish I did! **

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Xion had her eyes tightly shut most of the ride. She wasn't sure why but slowly she began to relax and opened them up. She watched all the lights go by them, it helped distract her from the fact that she was riding a motorcycle with a stranger.

They arrived at her home before she realized it and she quickly got off. She removed the helmet once her feet touched the ground. But she stood there dumbly after that.

Vanitas eyed her shortly before saying anything. "Well this was fun." The dark haired girl nodded awkwardly.

"Oh here..." She walked up to him and placed the helmet on his spiky hair. She fastened it up tightly under his chin like he did for her and smiled. Her sapphire eyes were locked into his golden ones for a moment before she stepped away.

Vanitas nodded his thanks. "You learn fast. Look weird as it is, I get that you don't like me but if you need someone to talk to I'm accessible." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a pen but could find any paper. He face palmed to show his disappointment at his stupidity.

Xion giggled while watching this and rolled up her sleeve. "Here, write it here." She held her exposed arm out and nodded. She had to admit he was growing on her. She really enjoyed his company even if it was only going to be for a few minutes.

Vanitas did as he was told, writing his number on the girl's arm. He offered an awkward smile afterwards which she returned, then he drove off with only a slight wave as a goodbye.

Xion was left standing there for about 10 seconds before she realized she wasn't wearing her jacket and she was freezing.

She walked up to her house and grabbed the key from in the mailbox where her mother hid it when she knew Xion would be back late. She probably didn't know it would've been this late and already went to bed. Xion hoped her mother was asleep so she wouldn't get a lecture. Her mother was the overprotective stay-awake-till-they-get-home type at times and it really pushed Xion's buttons.

When she opened the door and entered she was thankful to see the empty living room. The lamp was left on for her which she switched off. The darkness loomed over the house then and she gave her eyes a moment to adjust so she could navigate her way to the stairs. Too many times had she almost fallen on her face. Once she could see, Xion slowly tiptoed her way up the wooden stairs to her room, which was right at the top.

She wasn't in there two minutes before she flopped onto her bed. She made sure to set her alarm, once that was done she dozed off.

•••

The screeching of an alarm was definitely not the best way to wake up, but it was effective.

Xion quickly shut it off before she had the thought to smash it. Yes it was definitely one of those days. A day where a puppy could aggravate you just by nudging you. And she had to really set her mind to waking up.

Xion gathered up the strength to sit up and pulled her comforter off of her, reminding her that she hadn't changed last night. But something else caught her eye as she stretched out her arms in front of her as she stretched. A phone number was neatly written on her arm with signed with a V.

She blinked in confusion before all the memories of the day before came back to her clear as crystal. Roxas dumped her for Axel, she left her phone at his place, she ran off to god knows where and met a guy, Vanitas, who gave her a ride home. She remembered his face and his beautiful yellow eyes, bright like little glowing suns.

Xion felt worse now, mainly cause she felt she should apologize to Vanitas for thinking he was some kind of rapist. He was kind, from what she knew. "...if you need someone to talk to I'm accessible..." His words rolled through her head as she looked at her arm.

Jumping out of bed Xion walked to her desk and found a pen and her notebook. She quickly scribbled down the number and put his name beside it before walking to her dresser to grab her uniform.

She had no problem with uniforms, it was mainly the male students who did. They would whine and complain about them whenever they had the chance while the girls would just shrug it off. Well that wasn't totally true since some boys liked the uniforms and some girls absolutely detested them. It was just a plain white button up and blue plaid skirt with a matching tie, the boy's had the same but pants instead. It wasn't anything flashy, just simple, which was Xion's preference.

Quietly making her way to the bathroom Xion closed the door behind her with a soft 'click'. With that she stripped down and hopped in the shower, trying to refresh herself so she was ready for a new day. After a couple of minutes of scrubbing she realized the faded but visible ink was not going to come off. She sighed and gave up knowing it would cause her problems later. If her friends saw it there would be millions of questions and assumptions.

Turning off the water, Xion stepped out of the shower onto the floor towel and wrapped her towel around herself. She used a smaller towel to dry her hair then dried herself off completely. Once she cleaned the foggy mirror, she giggled at her messy hair. It reminded her of Axel and Roxas, they'd all have matching messy, spiky hair, well if they decided to still be friends. That depressed her and she slowly dressed then brushed her short hair. She ditched the dirty laundry into the hamper. In no hurry Xion left the bathroom and went downstairs to be greeted by her mother who eyed her suspiciously.

"When did you get home last night?" She asked blandly though the obvious concern that rang in her voice ruined the facade. "I tried texting you, when you failed to respond I called Roxas and he said you left around 8." And here it was, the moment of truth.

Xion fidgeted slightly thinking about how to answer honestly. She was aware that lying would get her nowhere, her mother always knew when she was lying and it wasn't fair. "I was out with a friend, he was trying to cheer me up... And he did so he brought me home."

This earned her some confusion and a cocked eyebrow. "Cheer you up?" Was all her mother said.

The dark haired teen nodded. "He offered to buy me a drink but I reminded him I wasn't of age so he got over it." She shrugged to show it was no big deal but the intensity of her mother's eyes made her uncomfortable.

"And why did you need cheering up?"

A sigh was the response Xion first gave, it took her a moment to swallow the lump in her throat.

"Roxas didn't tell you? We broke up, that's why I left there so early and came home late, I was upset." She felt her voice shake slightly but she wasn't going to let down her shell. She knew she'd have to face him today and she was going to do it strongly.

"I'm so sorry." Her mother's voice softened now and her eyes were sympathetic. But Xion just laughed slightly showing she was done with the topic. This was always an awkward topic for the two, her mother was not one to discuss relationships and always warned Xion to not worry about them until she was out of school.

"I need to go get my lunch ready." She mumbled walking of towards the kitchen. When she entered and made sure her mother wasn't following, she let out a breath of relief. Her mother didn't notice the number on her arm. It did wash off quite a bit but again it was still visible and anyone with seeing eyes would see it if they looked at her arm. It was after all, faded black ink on pale skin. Well she wasn't that pale but she was pretty pale compared to most of her friends.

Slapping her cheeks lightly to wake herself up Xion set out to make her lunch. Which didn't turn out to be much but a bottle of water, bag of chocolate chip cookies and a six inch sub that her mother kindly made and expected her to eat. It was a daily thing, Xion would pack a small snack and her mother would actually make the lunch. It wasn't that Xion was lazy, her mother just loved to make her lunch. This was something her mother felt was necessary, it was also a way for her to stall time in the morning and help keep a decent bond with her teenage daughter, whom she thought would soon grow to hate her.

With a few minutes to spare before the time to leave, the sapphire eyed girl made her way out the door ready to walk to school only for her mother to follow her out and offer her a ride, which she gratefully accepted. She had no energy to walk and then deal with her day. She knew the offer was to be comforting and show that her mother knew she was hurting. Despite that her mother did not speak to her at all, purely because she didn't know what to say.

When they pulled up into the parking lot and she unbuckled the seatbelt, she spotted her group of friends which consisted of Sora, Riku, Kairi, Hayner, Pence, Olette, Selphie and a certain blond she wasn't sure she was ready to talk to.

As if he could feel her presence, Roxas turned and saw her, waving then running over. Her mother eyed her but Xion only shook her head, she'd have to face him eventually so she wanted to get it over with. Hugging her mother goodbye she wondered if she could ask to just turn around and go back home. She sighed, knowing that it wouldn't happen, then opened the car door and hopped out.


	3. Chapter 3: Pestering

**Okay so I went and fixed this slightly and I apologize 1000 times for my inactivity, I will upload the next few chapters tonight. Sadly I haven't seen all this in 3 months, the thing I had wrote them on had been unable to function so I didn't want to start over. But I have been having thoughts on rewriting the whole thing.**

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"Xion! Oh thank god I was so worried!" Roxas wrapped his arms around her. "Your mother called me last night and I thought you might've been attacked or like raped or something." He pushed off her and looked her over to check for wounds and lifted her arm spotting the faded ink. "What's this?" The arm was quickly pulled away and held protectively to the girl's chest.

"N-nothing!" How was Roxas acting as though nothing happened? He smirked at her mischievously cocking an eyebrow. "That's a phone number isn't it?" Then it hit her, Roxas was trying to act like it all never happened. Xion smiled to herself realizing she too wanted to forget it all. "Oh, you smiled it is a phone number isn't it? Who gave you their number?" Roxas started getting all nosy . He clearly was trying way too hard to be friendly.

He managed to attract their other friends who questioned his behavior. "Xion has a number written on her arm." Roxas grabbed her arm and showed the group.

Kairi squealed and ran over to her and hugged her. She seemed to be way too excited about this, like it was her not Xion. Blue stared into blue as Kairi began badgering her like Roxas had. "So who is he? I wanna know the man who asked out my dear Xion." She could tell by the look on everyone else's faces that they were all curious too, even Riku seemed interested.

"Yeah after all it's not everyday that our little Xion gets asked out." Sora chimed in grinning Xion shook her head a few times before responding. She felt pressured, sure it was very unusual for her to receive a guy's number but must they make a big deal of it?

"Ok first of all I ran into him in an alleyway, like seriously ran into him. So he helped me up and we chatted for a bit and he offered me a drink, which I declined! Then he drove me home. He did not ask me out, he just cheered me up cause I was crying and running around late at night." She inhaled after spitting all that out, it was quite tiring to explain this. She knew soon she was going to be pestered as in why he gave her his number and what his name was.

Selphie just giggled at her for a bit then jumped up "So what's his name? Surely he introduced himself?" And with that the redhead bounced again "That's right and why did he give you his number huh?" 'I totally called that' Xion thought to herself. She knew her friends too well and usually could figure out their actions before they did.

"You are not getting his name and he gave me his number so I could call him if I needed someone to talk to." Xion went to cross her arms but Olette stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"It's signed with a V." She said smiling. "That narrows it down." Olette put her slim index finger to her chin to show she was in thought. Kairi and Selphie than copied the gesture.

"Guys we really shouldn't pry if she doesn't want us to know." Riku's calm voice surprise them all. Xion smiled at him glad that he understood and was respecting her privacy. Her other friends could learn from Riku but of course she knew that would never happen. As if to work in her favor the bell signaling that class was beginning rang throughout the yard.

"Don't think you're getting off the hook just cause class is starting." Kairi said with a sly smirk on her face.

Selphie had the same expression. "yeah come lunch we'll get some answers!" And with that the two girls took off into the school.

Xion waved goodbye to her friends and turned to leave. But stopped when she heard her name called in a calm tone, soft like the person was debating whether to actually call to her or not.

She turned and saw Riku there his hair covering his eyes. "We have first period together... We might as well go together." He shrugged slightly. The shock was obvious on the girls face. Riku preferred to do things alone. Riku was the independent one of the group, which made Xion wonder why he hung out with them. Not to say she didn't like him, she actually really enjoyed his company.

"Yeah, let's go then." She offered him a smile so he would know he was welcomed. Riku's mouth twitched upwards slightly and he gave a small smile in return. The two headed into the school then to class without speaking to each other. Xion could feel the awkward air around them. She wanted to say something to start a conversation but wasn't sure what. She knew Riku wouldn't. When they got into class they sat together and Riku finally broke the silence.

"Are you alright?" He asked concern was lined through his voice. He had worry written into his beautiful eyes too. The sapphire eyed girl was confused before it clicked.

"Oh you mean about the guy? Yeah, he didn't do anything bad don't worry." She smiled at him again trying to let her face prove it too. Riku just stared at her intently only to shake his head after.

"Not about that, about what happened with Roxas..." His voiced trailed off when he saw her smile immediately drop and the colour drain from her face. "We all know but were told to leave it alone." _That explained everyone's hyper behavior,_ Xion thought to herself_ They all were pretending it never happened._

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Her voice was making her sound unsure. "It's not the break up that upset me, it was the fact that my best friend lied to me." She could feel the stinging of tears welling up in her eyes. She wasn't gonna let herself cry but she knew Riku would be able to see the wetness of her eyes.

Riku wasn't looking at her though, his face was looking to the floor. "He... Lied to you? He said that you guys were uncomfortable with the whole dating thing and decided it was best to break up." His words were confused but when he looked up at her there was slight anger in his green eyes. "What really happened?"

Xion felt she did something wrong, Roxas was clearly trying to avoid drama and telling people about him and Axel. Did she just mess this up? She looked away and shook her head she knew if she told him it would be bad. Riku sighed and nodded in understanding.

"Look, I know it still hurts but sometimes you need to talk about it... I know not liked very much, if you're uncomfortable talking to me-" Xion waved her hand and shook her head.

"No no that's not it, I like you a lot! But ... No that came out wrong..." she blushed crimson and Riku just chuckled softly at her flustered expression. "Ok, don't laugh that's mean!" She pouted at him and he looked away. "Okay I'm gonna start again," Xion let out a breath. "I will tell you but please don't tell anyone." She put her hands together.

Riku turned back to her still slightly smiling at her pouting. "I didn't plan on it anyways, you clearly don't want people to know." He shrugged looking at her. Xion could feel her mood drop when she thought about what happened.

"Roxas asked me to go out with him, but apparently it was to cover up that he was dating someone else..."Riku cocked an eyebrow again. "It's Axel... He's... Dating Axel. He was embarrassed and didn't want anyone to know." Xion realized that she was fighting on Roxas' side here even though he was in the wrong.

It was quiet aside from the other students discussing their work. Riku was totally silent, it was a bad silence too. Xion looked at him and sighed covering her face in her hands. She separated her fingers and looked at the sheet the teacher handed out earlier. Ick fractions and blah, she wasn't a math fanatic and having it first period sucked. She glanced at Riku. He was lost in thought. She thought how funny it was for him to be in her class.

He wasn't proud of the mark he got back when he was in her grade so he took the class again to fix it. He got some eyes at first, mostly from the girls. Xion would admit it made sense since he was fairly attractive. Not only that but he was smart, athletic and kind... Well unless you got on his bad side.

The class ended sooner than she thought and soon she and Riku went their separate ways. She waved to him and he returned the gesture. Xion headed towards her next class, English. She had no friends in this class so she'd be bored.

When Xion got in class she saw a supply teacher walk in with a tv and movie. 'So it's one of those day huh?' She thought. The girl wished she had her phone but it was probably still in her jacket at Roxas' if Axel didn't burn it, which she figured he would've. As she sat down she put her head on the desk already bored of the class and wants lunch to arrive. Well maybe lunch wasn't what she wanted since her friends would be harassing her about Vanitas. Once the name was said that's what her mind clung to.

Vanitas, he was so kind to her even though they hadn't known one another, he even gave her his number. That made Xion wonder if she should actually call him or if it was a fake number. That wouldn't surprise her. He was kind though he wouldn't do that, would he? Along with acting like a nice guy he was quite good looking. Spiky black hair and golden eyes. He was definitely attractive. Xion quickly shook those thoughts out but they slowly crept back and she was snapped out of her thoughts by the bell. Finally it was time for lunch.


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